600 drug addicts break out of Đồng Nai rehab centre

ĐỒNG NAI — Around 600 drug addicts escaped from a rehabilitation centre in Đồng Nai Province’s Xuân Lộc District late last night, and caused havoc on and around National Highway 1, blocking traffic, rioting and looting.

Though officers arrived at the centre quickly after being informed about the breakout and fired shots in the air, many of the inmates managed to get away and headed for the highway.

By then they had damaged vehicles on the streets and engaged in robbery, causing extreme apprehension among local residents.

Loan Nguyễn wrote on her Facebook page she had been on her way from HCM City to Bình Thuận Province when some of the addicts stopped her car and demanded money.

“The drug addicts, who had large, sinister tattoos, attacked our car violently and smashed it. We had a difficult time getting out of the chaos. It was so terrible that we cannot get over what happened.”

Provincial and local police, assisted by locals, managed to capture more than 300 of the escapees as of 9am this morning.

According to the centre, hundreds of inmates broke out after attacking the centre’s security guards with fire extinguishers and other hard objects.

Since the escapees fled in all directions, the police have set up check points in Xuân Lộc, Long Khánh and other districts.

The centre can only accommodate 600 people but has nearly 1,500 inmates at the moment. —VNS